Windows chief Steven Sinofsky quits Microsoft

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Microsoft's president of Windows and Windows Live, Steven Sinofsky, is leaving the company only a couple of weeks after Windows 8 was launched worldwide.

At present, the reasons for his departure are unknown as is his destination, but the company will be carrying on without the man who has become synonymous with Microsoft Windows keynotes and press conferences.

It was he who revealed Windows 8 to the world at the launch press event and formerly at Build. He said, on 25 October, that Windows 8 was "simply the best release of Windows ever".

"We built Windows 8 on the foundation of Windows 7, but made it much, much better," he explained to the gathered throng of journalists in New York City mere days before Hurricane Sandy ripped through the area. It was, as it turns out, his last appearance on stage as a Microsoft employee.

“It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft. I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company,” Sinofsky said.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said: “I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company.

“The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft. We’ve built an incredible foundation with new releases of Microsoft Office, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Microsoft Surface, Windows Server 2012 and ‘Halo 4,’ and great integration of services such as Bing, Skype and Xbox across all our products.

"To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings.”

Sinofsky has been replaced by the newly promoted Julie Larson-Green, formerly corporate vice-president, Windows. She is the new head of Windows engineering.